Pad for chair seats and the like



. GALLAGHER Feb. 6, 1923.

A. PAD FOR CHAlR SEATS AND THE LIKE.

FILED AUG fi red Hug/1 Gallagher.

Patented Feb. 6, 1923.

UNITED STATES ALFRED HUGH GALLAGHER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO TAHNERS PRODUCTS PATENT "OFFICE.

COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

PAD FOR CHAIR SEATS AND THE LIKE.

Application filed August 11, 1921. Serial No. 491,421.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED HUGH GAL- LAGHER, a citizen of the United States, residin at Chicago, in the county of Cook and tate of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pads for Chair Seats and the like of which the following is a specificaion.

This invention relates to pads for use in chair seats, cushions and the like.

One object of the invention is to provide an uncovered self-sustaining pad which may be sold to the trade as a separate article of manufacture and which is properly shaped to give the desired configuration to the fin ished chair seat or cushion.

Another object is to eliminate the necessity of stuffing chair seats or cushions with loose material.

A further object is to provide a pad which may be quickly and cheaply manufactured and sold to the trade at a small cost.

Another object is to provide a pad which has been given the necessary irregular shape without destroying its loose, soft condition.

Another object is to provide a pad so made that the material forming the pad is itself given an irregular shape which the pad is capable of maintaining without any covering or other support.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved pad,

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the same, and

Figure 3 is a side view.

The pad comprises a body 1 of felt to. which the irregular shape shown in the drawing has been imparted to it by beveling the edges as shown at 2. The particular kind of felt of which the pad is made is immaterial. It may be made of felted cattle hair or similar fibers, but I prefer to use the kind of felt disclosed in my prior Patent No. 1,368,920, of February 15th, 1921. The felt in this patent is made from a mixture of cattle hair and hog bristles. the former being capable of felting sufficiently to produce a self-sustaining body, and the latter tending to resist the felting action sufficiently to maintain the felt in a loose and soft condition in use. Such a felt will not become compact and hard in use, and

it is for this reason that I prefer to use that kind of felt in the present instance.

The bevels 2 are preferably cut bevels. That is, the bevels are formed by a suitable cutting machine. The advantage of cutting the bevels to impart the desired shape to the pad, rather than using other methods of shaping it, will be hereinafter ex lained.

he exact method of making the pad is immaterial so far as the present invention is concerned. One method of making it is to mix the proper fibers and then felt them to the desired thickness in a suitable feltin machine. Blanks are then cut from the felt so produced and these blanks are operated on by a cutting machine to cut the bevel 2 along the edges. The best results have been obtained by a motor-driven disk cutter which is set at the proper angle to produce the bevel on the pad.

It will be noted that, inasmuch as the pad is made to the proper shape, it may be applied to the chair seat as a unit and will give the chair seat the desired shape. The disadvantages of stuffing a chair seat or a cushion with loose material are entirely eliminated. The improved pad, although in the nature of stufling material, is, nevertheless, already shaped and may be handled as a unit. In this connection it should be noted that because the material itself is shaped and because the pad is self-sustaining, no covering or other supporting means is necessary to preserve its shape prior to the time it is covered in making a cushion or chair seat.

There are a number of advantages of imparting the desired shape to' the pad by cutting the bevels instead of forming them in other ways. Among these are the following: The pad should be soft and loose and the shape should be given to the pad by some means which will not permanently compress and harden it. Furthermore, it has been found that a pad with cut beveled edges will maintain its shape indefinitely. Finally, the cost of production is greatly reduced by cutting the felt to the proper shape rather than by shaping it in other ways, or by employing a covering or other support to preserve the shape of the pad.

Although there are certain advantages in cutting the bevels, nevertheless I do not wish to limit myself to a pad having out bevels, as a pad shaped by other means, as for in stance, by molding would come within the scope of the broader phases of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. An article of manufacture comprising a unitary filling pad for use in upholstering chair seats, said pad comprising a self sustaining body of felted fibers, said body being of sufficient thickness to give the finished chair seat a stufiecl or padded appearance and having its edges beveled in order to give the pad the same general shape as i the shape of the finished chair seat, and said pad being capable of being handled as a unit and adapted to be covered by the upholstery covering.

2. A pad for use in upholstering chair seats comprising a self-sustaining body of felt composed of cattle hair and hog bristles, said body of felt being of sufficient thickness to give the finished chair seat a stuffed or padded appearance and having its edges out to a bevel in order to give the pad the same general shape as the shape of the finished chair seat, and said pad being eapa hle of being applied as a unit to the chair seat frame during the upholstering process.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

ALFRED HUGH GAIL. HER. 

